


Somebody's Stuck In My Head

by SereneCalamity



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bartender Betty, F/M, Jughead just has a thing for her..., Southside Serpent Jughead Jones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:21:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23944606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneCalamity/pseuds/SereneCalamity
Summary: There's a new girl working at the Whyte Wyrm.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 16
Kudos: 130
Collections: 7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees





	Somebody's Stuck In My Head

**Author's Note:**

> This one is for britt2584. Hope it's okay, it's been a while since I've written Bughead!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.

She was new.

Or, she had been around a couple of times before, Forsythe Pendleton Jones III— _Jughead_ —had seen her when he had come into the _Whyte Wyrm_ although he'd had other things that he'd had to focus on and so he couldn't spend the whole time taking her in.

Tonight was a bit different because there wasn't any business he needed to worry about, all of the _Serpents_ were there to let loose after a good haul of guns across state lines which were going to bring in a lot of money, so there was going to be a lot of booze and drugs flowing tonight.

She handled herself well behind the bar, laughing and joking and knowing exactly when to shut down unwanted advances from some of the _Serpents_ who were already on their seventh or eighth drink, arching her eyebrow and flipping them off, the dim overhead lights catching the chipped sparkly pink nail polish that she was wearing that Jughead found incredibly endearing despite the skin tight, ripped black jeans she was wearing and the black leather jacket.

"Her names Betty, _lover boy_ ," Toni Topaz was suddenly singing out in his ear which made him shift his attention, although not his gaze. "She's my Cher's cousin."

"Oh yeah?" Jughead hummed out, and his attention was definitely shifted now that he knew Toni had _good_ intel. "Betty?"

"Elizabeth, but she goes by Betty," Toni said with a grin and then she was passing him a tequila shot. "Cheers."

"Cheers," Jughead muttered as he tapped the glass shot against hers and then threw it back. It burned a bit on the way down, but he didn't flinch as he put the shot back down on the sticky bar. "How long is she in town?"

"She used to live here when she was younger—north side girl. Parents owned the _Register_ when they were here, until it came out that her dad was cheating on her mum and then they all moved away. Mum divorced dad, took the kids, blah blah blah," Toni waved a hand to the side and her eyes were swiftly around the room. "Anyway, she dropped out of college and quit her job and decided to move here, so she's living with Cher for a bit, looking for her own place, think she's planning on sticking around." Toni's entire face lit up as she lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers—it was kind of funny how scary Toni could be, always had been, but she just melted whenever Cheryl Blossom was around. "Anyway," Toni slapped her hand down on Jugheads shoulder. "My girls here, so I'm out. Have fun giving her your creepy stare."

Jughead pulled the finger at her back as she walked away, but she wasn't wrong.

He wasn't about to hit on a bartender at their job, especially if she knew that his father ran the _Southside Serpents_ and pretty much owned this bar and signed her pay cheques.

So he had a few more shots, poured by Jewel or Tabby or one of the other girls that spent most of their time up on tables and around poles than behind the bar, and then he let Archie Andrews and Joaquin DeSantos drag him away to join a raucous game of pool that always resulted in a fist fight.

He didn't see Elizabeth Cooper's eyes follow him as he left.

It was a couple of days later that he was back, it was before opening hours and it wasn't because he needed a drink, it was because they needed a patch job after getting into a fight, so the whole thing was honestly a bit of a mess.

Sweet Pea had been stabbed and Fangs Fogarty was a complete mess, acting as though it had never happened before as he and Archie brought Sweet Pea down to one of the rooms in the basement of the _Whyte Wyrm_ while Joaquin went to find someone to do the cleaning up, since all of them were terrible when it came to a needle and thread and Sweet Pea was _definitely_ going to need stitches.

 _Betty_ was the one who came back with Joaquin, first aid kit in her hand.

Jughead's eyebrows pulled together as he watched her come in, clothes a bit more casual than when she was usually tending bar, still skin tight jeans, but blue this time and no rips, and she was wearing this adorable fluffy blue sweater as she knelt at Sweet Peas side and gently peeled up his shirt to have a look at the wound on his side.

"Did you want something to drink before I start?" Betty asked as she glanced up. "To numb the pain?"

Sweet Pea winced and then nodded, asking Fangs to go and get him some tequila.

As Betty set about getting everything she needed out of the first aid kit, and Archie helped Sweet Pea get out of his bloody shirt, Jughead pursed his lips as his eyes skimmed over Betty.

"You might want to take off, uh, your jumper thing," Jughead muttered, waving a finger at her fluffy blue sweater. "Don't wanna get blood on it."

Archie's eyes danced in amusement as they flicked between Betty and Jughead, but Jugheads eyes were on Betty, the blonde looking up at him with a surprisingly soft smile before she leaned away from Sweet Pea to shrug out of her sweater to reveal a plain dark shirt underneath that wouldn't stain as easily.

Jughead didn't say anything else as he watched her quickly and efficiently patch up Sweet Pea, but when she left, she almost forgot her sweater, and Archie picked it up and tossed it to Jughead with a smirk, and Jughead hesitated for a split second before jogging up the stairs after her.

There were only two other people in the bar at the moment, unloading drinks into the fridge from boxes that had obviously just been dropped off, and neither of them were Betty, but one of them pointed toward the bathrooms on the far side and so Jughead went over, clutching the blue sweater in his hand, the soft material feeling out of place against his calloused palm.

He pushed open the door for the first bathroom and there was no one in there, so he elbowed open the next one and Betty straightened up from where she was bent over the sink, scrubbing at her hands, and she arched an eyebrow at him.

"Hi?" She greeted him before her eyes flicked down to the sweater. "Oh, thanks—just chuck it over there," she nodded at the bench beside her. Jughead put it down hesitantly then took a step back as she went back to washing her hands. There was blood under her fingernails, which were painted a sky blue today, and it didn't look as though it belonged there but she didn't look as though she cared, and maybe that was the point. "Was there something else?"

"Yeah—uh," Jughead cleared his throat glanced into the cracked mirror to the side before looking back at Betty, who was washing off the dirty soap suds from her hands and they were back to being all clean and pretty and her nails were shiny. She looked at him expectantly as she pulled at a paper towel. "Are you—are you working? Tonight? Are you working here tonight, I mean?"

He sounded like an idiot, but Betty was watching him with an amused expression and she wasn't leaving.

"I'm on the early shift, that's why I'm setting up, so til about nine," Betty answered slowly. "Why's that?"

"Want to go out for a drive afterwards? With me?" Jughead squinted a little at how awkward he was being before he crossed his arms and let out a huff. "Did you want to go out with me after work, Betty?" He asked, properly doing the job because she deserved it.

She eyed him up and down before a slow smile crossed her face as she picked her sweater and hooked it over her shoulder with one finger, bumping her hip gently against Jughead's as she passed by him in a friendly gesture that made Jugheads stomach jump into his throat.

"Wait for me in your usual spot at the bar—you know, where you just sit and pretend like you're not looking at me?" She winked. "I'll meet you there at nine."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay...Let me know what you think x
> 
> Twitter: [CalamitySerene](https://twitter.com/CalamitySerene)  
> Tumblr: [SereneCalamity](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/serenecalamity)


End file.
